News and Views

News

Voices

Arts

Life and Work

Milestones

Obituaries/Births/News of Windham County people

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About us

The Commons, Commonsnews.org, and the Media Mentoring Project are projects of Vermont Independent Media, a nonprofit source of news and media education in southern Vermont.

Contact us

Vermont Independent Media

139 Main St., #604

Brattleboro, VT 05301

802-246-6397

info@commonsnews.org

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General contacts

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CONTRIBUTE

Submit commentary

The Commons welcomes your contributions to Voices, a section devoted to personal perspectives of, by, and for the citizens of Windham County, Vermont.

Unlike the news, which we strive to keep objective, Voices contributions by their nature are biased expressions of opinion. Writers of Voices pieces offer a point of view and personality. Whether you're reminiscing about life in Bellows Falls in the 1930s or offering ways for Westminster to become a better town in 2011, we hope you'll consider submitting your work.

We publish opinions under several categories. Among them:

  • Viewpoint: Your opinion, pure and simple. Make a reasoned, reasonable, and civil argument and try to persuade our readers. We love well-written, thoughtful viewpoints even if we don’t agree with them ourselves!
  • Essay: Your first-person take on life.
  • Memoir: Memories and what they mean to you.
  • Dispatch: A report of an event, in your own words, filtered through your own observations.
  • Next Generation: Commentary by younger readers.
  • Letters from readers: Brief viewpoints and reactions to material previously published in The Commons.
  • Drawing Board: We are always interested in seeing work from talented Windham County–based political cartoonists, particularly cartoonists who can offer a unique point of view on local and state issues.

In addition, you'll also find our own editorials, written by Vermont Independent Media staff and contributors as the voice of the newspaper. Opposing viewpoints are always welcome in our Letters from Readers column.

We warmly welcome your letters in response to news or opinions we have published, particularly if you wish to offer a differing point of view or wish to set the record straight.

We regularly publish the work of columnists Deborah Lee Luskin, Elayne Clift, Joyce Marcel, and Annie Hawkins. 

Sending your contributions

  • Send an e-mail to voices@commonsnews.org.
  • Mail a hard copy to us: The Commons, P.O. Box 1212, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
  • Drop a copy to us at our office: Hooker-Dunham Building, 139 Main St. #604, Brattleboro. Office hours generally 9 a.m.–1 p.m. daily; the editor and deputy editor work in and around Brattleboro Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. You can leave material in an envelope by the door if nobody answers.

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